Shared circular bio-economy approaches for the valorisation of dairy by-products

The transition from linear production models to models linked to the circular economy is considered a common need at cross-border level and represents, at the same time, a great opportunity to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of strategic economic sectors, which in recent years have been affected by the pandemic crisis, the consequences of the international geopolitical situation and changes in market demand. EU policies, cascaded at national and then regional level, recognise the fundamental contribution of food systems towards sustainable development and the reduction of waste, through the recovery and reuse of by-products. In the cross-border area, the dairy value chain holds a very interesting potential for the circular valorisation of by-products, the most abundant of which is whey, which is currently partially used for animal feed or discarded, without envisaging higher added-value applications, with the consequent negative impacts on the environment. The DAIRY+ project partnership consists of two sectoral agencies (Soča Valley Development Agency and Agrifood & Bioeconomy FVG Foundation), two universities with thematically specialised research groups (University of Ljubljana, IML-PRO and University of Udine DI4A) and one health authority for control in the field of animal health, food risks and zoonoses (IZSVe), aiming at pooling their complementary competences to develop and promote replicable shared models and solutions to support the development of a circular bioeconomy in the dairy supply chain. This will be achieved through the alignment of ecosystems on a cross-border scale, the awareness-raising and capacity-building of operators and stakeholders, the development of operational and policy support tools, and the demonstration of replicable processes, with validation of their technical and economic feasibility and life-cycle assessment (LCA). The main expected outputs and results are: a circular value chain map, considering by-product recovery and reuse pathways, a cross-border stakeholder group that will animate a common circular supply chain innovation space, a common capacity-building programme for operators, a policy paper in support of strategies and measures to aid circularity in the sector, a vademecum for the proper management of by-products by companies, a technical and economic feasibility study of replicable solutions for the circular valorisation of whey (encouraging replicability by companies in the sector) with related LCA. Businesses in the dairy chain, sector agencies (local development, agri-food, health, environment), public authorities dealing with bio-economy and sustainable development, research and training institutions, and the cross-border community in general will benefit from the project results. The need for cross-border cooperation is justified by the fact that the initiation and sustainable development of a circular bioeconomy in the value chain requires crossing borders, exploiting economies of scale and integrating complementary resources and skills available on both sides of the border

The innovativeness of the methodological approach adopted by the partnership derives from several aspects (a) the integration of place-based territorial analysis, focused on volumes, actors and potentials of the border area, with scientific knowledge, a science-based innovation ensured through the know-how of the research bodies involved; (b) the focus on small-scale technological solutions that can be replicated by cross-border dairies, with sustainable investments, concretely accelerating the transition towards more circular production systems; (c) the consideration of the problem and the proposed solutions on a cross-border scale, trying to exploit economies of scale and also to deal with issues related to the proper management of by-products and the circulation of materials.

A cross-border collaboration focused on strengthening the circularity of the supply chain on the basis of the small and medium size of the dairies of the territories involved, undoubtedly represents a concrete and effective contribution to the green transition of the agrifood sector, favouring the recovery and re-use of by-products for value-added applications (diversifying the offer with new products requested by the market), reducing waste and inefficiencies.